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[mlappin]

is that a beer can i see it that there pic.
does a trip to the boiler equal an opportunity for a cold beverage hehehe!!!

Actually it’s a Mountain Dew can that I picked up out of the edge of the woods.

I married a damn fine woman though and she knows I’m a big boy now. I’ve nursed her back to health after her first AICD was implanted in 2008, again when she had a new one in March of this year and when in the fall of 2010 when she had her third and hopefully last open heart surgery. I did all the housework, laundry, shopping, dishes and cooking while getting the last of the harvest done. She’d prefer I’d cook all the time as she says I’m the better cook and in the two months she was recovering she lost 20lbs on my cooking. She was taught to cook by her mother who beliefs fat, salt and carbs should each be their own food groups.

In other words, I can have an adult beverage anytime I feel like it with absolutely no flak from her. I’m spoiled actually but won’t admit it as I don’t want it to go to her head.

[dukethebeagle]

ur a good man.merry xmas

[schoppy]

Ok you G400 owners, how many of you have rain caps on your stacks?

I finally received the parts for my G400 and tore it apart today to replace the venter plate gaskets first (the sealant will need to cure for 24 hrs) then I'll clean the bottom, replace the refractory and clean up the rest of the mess. I couldn't get 2 pictures of the back of my stove to show up with this post showing the terrible mess I have from creosote running down the back of my unit. After inspecting the venter cavity area I believe the majority of this mess came from all the rain we have been getting in this mild weather coming down the chimney. I'm sure the venter plate not sealing well doesn't help the situation either. There are drippings coming down around the venter assembly from above. In this mild weather, with the unit idling a lot, it must not be hot enough to burn off the 4 to 6 inches of rain we have received in the last few weeks. I asked the factory about using a rain cap when I installed it and they said it isn't necessary, just cover the chimney in the off season. After cleaning up the entire venter opening area the floor on mine actually appears to slope slightly towards the opening and there is no lip on the edge of the opening to stop any moisture from running out through the gaskets which weren't sealing good.

An 8 in chimney will let in a lot of rain so I'm wondering if a rain cap will cause any issues and which type would work best?       

[slimjim]

I think you have the correct diagnosis with the venter plate not sealing properly and the rain obviously isn't helping, I think when you get your gaskets sealed and start using larger wood, packing it in like you are stacking it not simply throwing it in, you will see a big difference in it's performance!

[coolidge]

Sometimes the rain caps cause more problems, they can get clogged and will restrict your airflow.

[schoppy]

Yes I have seen them plug up too. I was thinking making one more like a tin man hat for the fringe times or when heavy rain is predicted.

[mlappin]

Was pretty chilly the last week or so here, highs barely in the low twenties, burnt half a cord in a week heating the shop and house, no snow so saved a little wood by not having the snowmelt in. Actually had a little powder, but the leaf blower took care of that.

[mlappin]

Pretty confident I sized the current stove properly after today.

Cold and windy with snow, have a 100,000 btu HX in the house, two 50,000’s and another 100,000 in the shop. Woke up to snow this AM so started the snow melt, house was also calling for heat and the wife was running both the dishwasher and washing machine. I do have the 450 gallons of thermal storage in the shop and the three HX in their pull of that with with a 50 plate HX between the storage and the G400, after starting the snow melt I went out i the shop and turned all three thermostats up to 65 (one for each HX).

On the way in I added more wood to the 400, once it got the new charge going good it got the water up to 176-177 and ran there for over two hours until everything else caught up. IE sidewalk started returning warmer water to the reservoir and the heaters in the shop started to cycle on and off.

Much to my chagrin it does pay to follow directions though, Sunday I worked in the basement building more storage and tried something different in how I filled it. Before in the shoulder season I tried stacking my wood just in the center over the nozzle, problem was the ends would burn up first exposing the nozzle and it seemed like it produce more smoke, so just of the heck of it I tried placing my pieces (17 inches long) across the fire box wit the thought as the center burned out it would fall in to cover the nozzle, it burnt, but never cycled off, just kinda stuck around 172 most of the day. My theory is with the wood stacked the same direction as the  fresh air enters it just flowed right between the pieces and right out the nozzle. After it burnt down a bit I rearranged the pieces and it cycled off shortly afterwards.

I may try just one row again in the shoulder season but set the firewood processor for the maximum length of 24” and stack that wood separate from the rest.

One thing I have found that helps with using 17 inch long pieces is when I’m filling to place the bottom layer all the way to the back, then the second layer all the way to the front, third layer all the way to the back, etc. This keeps the ends from all being right in the center of the stove, before I think the fire would work up thru the center first and some mornings the nozzle would be exposed with charred wood all around the outside of the firebox, I’ve not had this since starting to stagger the layers or when I’m burning pole trees that I’ve cut 30-36” long.

Have my smaller rack at the stove now, about 8-10” shorter than the one that holds half a cord, should get 3 full days and a partial out of it, so if the colder weather keeps up I would figure on burning 3-4 cords a month if the snow keeps up. The snow melt almost pulls as hard as the house and shop combined when first turning it on. Thinking of changing the 30 plate out for a 20 so it doesn’t pull as hard at first, getting 140-150 degree water from the thirty plate before the tempering valve and only running 80-100 degrees to the sidewalk so the 20 should do fine.